Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Attitude”
Our Bible verse for today: “You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:1 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Be gracious”
Already this month we’ve given some thought to the advice the Apostle Paul gave to his young protégé Timothy in the letters first and second Timothy. You may remember that Timothy was a young man who had been trained by Paul to be an evangelist, church planter, church fixer, and a pastor. It was hard work and Timothy often found himself discouraged and sometimes doubtful. The letters Paul wrote were filled with advice and encouragement about how to survive and thrive in difficult circumstances – and so much of it had to do with maintaining a good attitude.
We’ve already learned from the advice Paul gave to Timothy that some of the character traits that comprise a good attitude include boldness, courage, perseverance, and faithfulness. We saw these same attributes modeled for us in yesterday’s devotional when we considered the example of Caleb who, at the ripe old age of 85, was still fired up and ready for whatever life brought next. Today we’ll consider the attribute of graciousness.
In 2 Timothy 2:1 Paul urged Timothy to be strong in grace. He was referring to the grace that is found in a personal relationship with Christ Jesus. Not only do we experience grace from Christ, but we are also to be dispensers of the grace of Christ. A gracious spirit should be a prominent aspect of our personality.
To be gracious means to be characterized by kindness, warmth, courtesy, tact, mercy, and compassion. This becomes especially important if you are also in the process of cultivating the other character traits we’ve considered such as boldness, courage, and even the feistiness of old Caleb. Those character traits are all important and needed, but if they’re not clothed in grace then such a person can easily become arrogant, obnoxious, rude, and even hurtful. It’s good to be bold and courageous and even feisty, as long as it’s all wrapped up in grace.
Billy Graham was bold, but he was also very gracious. Mother Teresa was bold, but she was also gracious. President Ronald Reagan was bold, but he was gracious. This needs to describe us too. We’re going to explore this idea a little further tomorrow as we discuss the concept of “Steel and Velvet”. In the meantime, be gracious.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 